We are half way through the first half of this series, my journey with Eclampsia {a near-death experience}, my survival, recovery & how I think it affected my child’s neurological development and our journey so far… READ PAST TWO BLOGS HERE.
This outline is a guide to help you understand how to navigate the stories. Today, we chat about the healing ❤️🩹…
- THE PREGNANCY 🤰 ✔️
- HIS BIRTH ✔️
- MY HEALING
- DENIAL
- HIS HEALING
- THE JOURNEY TODAY (LESSONS)
MY HEALING FROM ECLAMPSIA
If you’re just reading this blog series for the first time, I’ll simplify what Eclampsia
is —-> See it as Pregnancy-Induced Hypertension (PIH). If you clicked the last blog here, you’d have gotten a background to this story.
HERE IS HOW I HEALED
After being discharged from the hospital, I couldn’t recognize myself anymore, I became very dark, big and in severe pain especially in the spinal area. It was really scary, because I knew I brought this upon myself with unhealthy choices and knew also that I could begin to do better
I began taking walks in the neighbourhood, the back pain was REEEEAAAAALLLL!!!! But I knew I had to do something. I remember starting with 10 minutes, then increased to 15 and then 20 to 30 to 40 minutes to 1hour. With every walk, I kept building strength!
Next up was joining an accountability group on WhatsApp and registering at the gym. It was very hard at first. I remembered trying to do a routine and couldn’t lift my lap and I cried while sharing my daily report. But then I kept pushing still.
THEN CAME EATING…
After some months, I realized it wasn’t giving me the results I wanted. I was working out well, but plateaued (the scale wasn’t moving), I got one horrible looking meal plan from my then trainer (so lackadaisical), worst 10k spent.
Then I began researching by myself, foods I could take and pacing myself- eating what I could, retraining my taste buds and all. The shift started when I was researching healthier alternative. Unlearning and relearning. The process was tiring, but I kept documenting in my WhatsApp group. Balancing food with workouts.
THEN CAME MORE STRENGTH
I realized that the more I weaned myself off the thick chocolatey beverages and tin of milk with just green tea 🍵 I started feeling lighter & could lift more weight in the gym. I would train myself, switch things up with the workouts.
Some days home workouts, other days, gym weightlifting and aerobics/dance class and boom it looked like it took a couple of months, the journey began from 2015 to 2017. It took almost 2years of consistency to achieve this feat.
This is the leanest and most toned I’ve ever been. Understanding the season of life you’re in also matters a lot. I had amazing support/help from my mum and husband with a maid too, so I could focus on my health.
So I’d say maximize the help you have in that season of your life
Then enjoy each moment as it comes. Live life right now! Stop worrying about what will happen next minute. These are what we called Mindful Exercising, which I still practise until now.
Above all, Listening to your body is the best thing you can do for yourself…
I hope you’ve learnt a thing or two?
Drop a comment and tap the heart, encourage a mama by telling her this story.
For some strange reason, some people feel like it’s a stigma, living with hypertension and they wonder what could be stressing you!
Not all hypertensive cases are stress-induced, there are different causes of this type of condition ranging from genetics and also unhealthy habit, either way, switching up your lifestyle will make a big change for you as long as you pace yourself.
I would drop my anointed pen here, hoping you picked up lessons from my near-tragic experience…
Cheers to Mindful Eating; &
Cheers to Mindful Living
Your Cheerleader,
Idala Ogufere
